


November Sky

by memefucker69



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blind Character, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-13 13:13:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11760633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memefucker69/pseuds/memefucker69
Summary: Kyungsoo can't see the end of the world, but he can hear it. Anticipating the oncoming apocalypse, he prepares for everything and anything possible.The one thing he doesn't anticipate is a non-skilled burglar named Jongin.





	November Sky

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for prompt #156! 
> 
> i want to say thank you to the mods for being so generous and giving me an extension, also for being as encouraging as possible :3 and a BIG thank you to my friends S and E. y'all mean the world to me and thank you for being my betas and sprinting with me, especially S who helped me fill in the gaps in my plot.
> 
> warnings: jongin with a southern accent, neverending spam jokes (yes, the canned ham)

Kyungsoo has forever been a cautious individual. He likes to think before diving into something, lives alone, and tends to keep few friends. It could stem from the whole being blind thing, but Kyungsoo figures he’d be like this regardless of how he was born. Not to mention, the world has become increasingly dangerous over the past decade, more foreign disputes, more violence. Tension has been rising.

He can’t see, but he can hear the end of the world.

It doesn’t start with a bang, at least not to Kyungsoo. One morning in the summer, he’s drinking his coffee and listening to the news from the television, and they announce that a third of the senate has fallen ill with the spreading and mysterious virus, and that there has been a rise in doctor’s visits. The news anchors urge that scientists are working towards a vaccine, but something tells Kyungsoo that terrible things are coming.

He starts to prepare, and stocks his basement with all the necessities, along with turning his house into a liveable space for someone who would need to hide out from the outside world. He boards up his windows and secures his front door. The few friends he has call him crazy.

But he’s right. The news is soon filled with only a growing death toll across the world, a contagious virus spreading from continent to continent and wreaking havoc on the United States. Not only can Kyungsoo hear it on the television, but he hears it outside his own home in Raleigh. Living on the edge of the city, he hears the crashing cars, the fires, the sirens. People have turned against one another in fear of being the next to catch the new disease.

With no family to worry about since his parents passed when he was in college, Kyungsoo only has to worry about himself. His friends stop calling after they tell Kyungsoo that they’re leaving to underground bunkers provided by the government. Raleigh is being evacuated. They urge Kyungsoo to come along, but he refuses. He has all he needs.

After that, the city is silent, but Kyungsoo closely listens.

 

He awakens to paws pressing into his chest, kneading at his sternum impatiently. Kyungsoo groans and swats, only to hear a responding, irritated meow, and then a paw swipes at his face, toe beans pressing incessantly into his cheek.

“‘M still sleepy, Natasha…” He grumbles, trying to slip back into dreamworld. He can vaguely remember a dream about his mother, hearing her soft voice singing like she used to when cooking dinner. Kyungsoo would sit by the counter and listen, smiling the whole time. He misses her.

There’s a more demanding meow, and this time Natasha claws at his cheek. Immediately sitting up, he yelps, holding his cheek as Natasha hops down to his lap and mews again. Kyungsoo frowns but reaches down to pet his cat anyways. She’s been his partner during the apocalypse and even before then when he adopted her. The five year old cat is sassy as ever, and it isn’t unusual for her to wake up or bother Kyungsoo just to be pet.

“Should’ve gotten a dog,” Kyungsoo mutters, though he bears a smile. His hands slide through her fur to find her chin and scratches there, enjoying the responding purr. “I guess I should get up anyways, huh?”

Yawning, Kyungsoo reaches to his right to where his nightstand sits and taps the large button on his alarm clock. It spits out a little tune before the digital voice says,  _ ‘The day is October 31st, 2022. The time is 9:47 AM.’ _

“Halloween, huh.” Kyungsoo smiles a little before getting out of bed to start the day.

It’s already been a little over seven months since the evacuation of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the rest of the U.S. The last time he had listened to the radio (which was when radio stations hadn’t given up) the death toll in the country was estimated to be 100 million, nearly a third of the population. The rest of the world was in an even worse shape, but Kyungsoo learned that he was one of the lucky immune ones long ago.

He knows that the disease isn’t the only threat now though, which is why his morning routine includes checking the security system and assuring that no locks were tampered with, no windows opened. It’s always a sigh of relief when things are as they should be.

“No travelers demanding food or supplies in the middle of the night at least.” Kyungsoo tugs on the locks on his front door. They’re still strong and holding on. He’s had people try to break in before, stragglers who weren’t able to get assistance for the government or refused it. He feels bad when they realize the house is occupied and ask for food or shelter, but denying them is the only way to ensure his safety. Judo experience can’t protect him from guns.

Natasha twirls around his feet as he walks into the laundry room and opens up a can of cat food for her and dumps it in her food bowl. She mews, and Kyungsoo moves back to the kitchen make his own breakfast, which is just some toast and a can of beans. Not much of a choice in the apocalypse, sadly. He misses eggs and milk.

Every day is the same. It’s not like he should expect more being locked up in his own home to keep the outside out, but it gets lonely sometimes. Natasha can only do so much to keep him company, so his days are filled with rereading the same books in braille or listening to the old music on his IPhone. There isn’t much else to do other than hope that someday the radio will buzz back in and state there’s a cure to rebuild the crumbling population.

Natasha meows as she rubs up against his leg, and Kyungsoo puts his toast down to reach for her to hold her in his arms. She’s the most cuddly feline he’s ever met, instantly purring as he scratches at her head.

“I miss the sun and fresh air, Natasha. Don’t you?” She squirms in his arms, clawing at his t-shirt, and nuzzles into his chin. Kyungsoo can tell that she is getting a little claustrophobic in here too.

 

For the first time in a long, long time, Kyungsoo wakes up to something other than Natasha meowing incessantly. There are no paws pressing into his chest, and in fact he can still feel his cat curled up on the bed, just next to his left foot where she usually is.

He’s disoriented for a moment, knowing it’s definitely early in the morning based on how heavy and sleepy his body feels. Kyungsoo starts to wonder just what exactly woke him up. It could be raining, or his generator might be sputtering. Another possibility is a straggler at his door again, knocking incessantly.

_ Thump _ . A heavy breath.

Kyungsoo’s stomach drops, and he sits up in bed. No, not someone outside of his house. Someone is  _ in  _ it.

His heart speeds up in his chest as he breaks out in a cold sweat. What should he do? Obviously he has to stop whoever it is from stealing something. He can hear them opening his fridge and cabinets, probably raiding his food and other supplies. Whoever it is must not realize that Kyungsoo still lives here because they aren’t trying to be quiet.

“Fuck yeah,  _ Spam _ .” The voice is deep and masculine with a slight Southern drawl.

Kyungsoo slowly gets out of bed and reaches out to the corner of his room where he knows he left a baseball bat. It isn’t much, but it’s all he has to protect himself against the intruder. Relying on his hearing and knowledge of the layout of his own house, he slowly starts to inch out into the hallway. His house isn’t big at all, but luckily the hallway opens up to the end of the kitchen, meaning he won’t be in view of the stranger if he hides behind the wall.

He stops and listens. The man - as he’s assuming - has been mumbling to himself the entire time, sounding excited as he loots. From what he can tell, the intruder is standing just left of the fridge, digging through the lower cabinets there. Anger boils in Kyungsoo’s gut. He won’t let them take his things that he worked so hard to save up, and he  _ won’t  _ let him jeopardize his survival. Kyungsoo is nervous as hell, but he grips the baseball bat tightly in his hands and prays to whatever god is out there that this person doesn’t have a gun.

Kyungsoo dashes out from the hallway with the bat raised. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?!”

There’s a resounding shriek and something like a can dropping to the linoleum floor and rolling. Kyungsoo knows he’s standing only a few feet from the intruder now, and the can rolls to his foot in the silence that hangs between the two of them.

“Y-You live here?” The man stutters, taking a step back and bumping into the cabinets. “Please don’t hurt me! I’ve just been starvin’ a-and I thought there ain’t nobody here.”

“The door’s locked, and the power still works!” Kyungsoo furrows his brows. This guy sounds like an idiot.

“Well, ya can’t blame me when I bust the window open, and no one comes a screamin’ for the past ten minutes!” He yells back.

“You opened my window?” Kyungsoo growls and stabs the bat forward until it comes in contact with…a chest? The man must be taller than him.

“Uh, yeah? You walked right past it, buddy.”

Kyungsoo isn’t fazed, used to people not realizing, although it’s been awhile since he had any conversation. “I’m blind.”

“Oh.” The man lets out a breath. It’s like he’s relaxing, and that pisses Kyungsoo off more.

“I can still hurt you!”

“Okay!” With a panicked yelp, Kyungsoo can tell he tenses up again.

Kyungsoo swings the bat to point in the direction of the kitchen table. “Sit down now.”

The man hurries over, footsteps loud and quick before the telltale squeak of one of the wooden chairs once he sits down. Kyungsoo follows after him calmly, feeling the lingering edges of sleepiness in his brain as he takes a seat across from him. “What’s your name? How old are you?” he asks, setting the bat on the floor.

“Jongin Kim, and I’m twenty-three.”

“Korean?” Kyungsoo is surprised. The Southern accent had thrown him off, but even then he couldn’t imagine having met another Korean guy in the apocalypse or whatever this is.

“You can’t tell?” Jongin says, and then he catches himself. “Wait - sorry. You’re Korean too?”

Kyungsoo scoffs at the first remark. “Yeah, I am. I’m Kyungsoo Do, and I’m twenty-seven. This is my house, and I live alone, so what do you want?”

“I-I just need food and water. The area around here has been looted all to hell, so I haven’t had much luck getting anything.” Jongin sighs. “I’ve been trying to find the military or someone official to take me to the bunkers and the safehouses. I just want somewhere permanent since my family…” He stops himself, and Kyungsoo understands.

“I’m sorry.” He suddenly feels a little guilty about judging Jongin beforehand, having been cooped up in his own home the entire time with plenty of supplies. “Where are you from?”

“Wilmington. I worked as a lifeguard at one of the beaches before everything happened, but my parents live not too far from here. I drove back, but they were already sick by then. After the world went crazy and everyone left, I stayed behind because they wouldn’t take my parents into the bunkers, and I didn’t want to leave them.” Jongin shifts in his chair.

“You’re immune?”

“I guess so.”

Kyungsoo sits back, realizing that Jongin has no ill intentions at all. He was only hungry and lost, having thought the house was abandoned. Unlike the other stragglers from before, Kyungsoo doesn’t think he has the heart to turn Jongin away without helping him somehow. He ponders for a moment, wondering if it’s best to just give Jongin some things and let him go.

_ ‘I just want somewhere permanent.’ _

“Do you have any weapons?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Um, just a knife and a gun I picked up. I don’t know how to use it…”

“Put them on the table.” Kyungsoo picks up the bat again just in case. He hears the sound of Jongin dropping something to the ground and unzipping a bag. Metal clinks against the wooden table, followed by something heavier being set down.

“There,” Jongin says. “It’s all I got, I swear.”

“If you promise that you won’t threaten me, steal from me, or try anything...I’ll let you stay here for a little while.” Kyungsoo finds himself proposing the last thing he thought he’d do. “O-Only until you feel comfortable going to find some government help.” He adds the last part to make himself feel better.

“What?” Jongin is clearly shocked. “B-But we just met an’ all. How can you trust me?”

Kyungsoo raises his brows. “Do you plan to hurt me?”

“Well, no…but why?”

He isn’t so sure of that himself, but he doesn’t want Jongin to leave. Jongin is the first person he’s been able to talk to in a long, long time. Even Natasha can’t feel the void in humanity for so long, and Kyungsoo could use someone to help keep his home protected.

But instead of all that he just says, “Because I want to help you, and I have plenty of space and supplies to share. You don’t have to accept. I’ll give you some food and water and send you on your way, if you’d prefer that.”

There’s a pause as Jongin thinks it over, but they’re both startled at the meow that comes from the hallway. Kyungsoo smiles, hearing the little pats of Natasha’s paws on the floor as she approaches. He bends down and picks the cat up, hugging her to his chest.

“This is Natasha. Are you okay with cats? She’s really nice.” Kyungsoo scratches beneath her chin and listens to her sweet purring.

“I’m more of a dog person, but I can adjust.”

Kyungsoo’s hand pauses on Natasha’s fur, and she squirms in protest. “So that’s a yes?”

“Um, yeah, if you’ll have me.” Jongin sounds nervous but sure, so Kyungsoo holds out his hand for a handshake.

“Happy to have you then.” Kyungsoo offers a smile, and he almost jolts when he feels a palm connect with his own. Jongin’s hand is rough and bigger but really, really warm. It’s somehow comforting in a different way than how Kyungsoo feels when he holds Natasha. Did he really miss human contact this much?

He belatedly realizes he’s been holding Jongin’s hand for too long and awkwardly coughs, pulling away. “Um, are you tired? I am, and I can offer you the pullout couch?”

“Actually...do ya mind if I wash up? I dunno if you can smell it, but I haven’t been able to get clean in a while.” Jongin chuckles, and Kyungsoo discreetly retracts his hand to wipe it on his sweatpants, a little disgusted now.

Kyungsoo shows him to the bathroom with the giant bottled water he has in there (telling him to use it as sparingly as possible), and once Jongin is closer he  _ can  _ smell, and he tries not to let it show, resisting the urge to crinkle his nose. Jongin thanks him and closes the door, and Kyungsoo goes to lie down on his bed. Natasha abandons him to go elsewhere, so he’s left alone with his thoughts.

He can’t believe he just invited a burglar to stay with him. There’s a stranger bathing in his house, and now he’ll be here for even longer. Kyungsoo didn’t even prep to take care of two people! Jongin didn’t seem like a heavy person, so maybe he won’t eat too much or use up supplies, but still…

Groaning, Kyungsoo rolls over onto his stomach. Maybe this is all just a weird dream, and tomorrow he will wake up alone again without the stress of another person in his midst.

 

Not so.

Kyungsoo wakes up to the smell of something like bacon, but he knows he has none. Puzzled, he lifts his head drowsily and momentarily wonders why someone is in his kitchen cooking. And then the memories come back to him. A guy named Jongin broke into his house last night, and Kyungsoo invited him to stay for some weird reason. He must have fallen asleep while waiting for Jongin to get out of the tub last night.

With a sigh, he climbs out of bed and feels Natasha instantly start to rub up against his ankles with a meow. Kyungsoo bends down to pet her and pick her up as he goes.

His stomach growls as he approaches the kitchen. He wonders what Jongin could possibly be cooking, but whatever it is smells really good. Kyungsoo hasn’t been creative at all with any of his canned or nonperishable food items, not that he’s much of a cook as it is.

“Jongin?”

There’s a clatter on the stove and a gasp, and it causes Kyungsoo to jolt as well. He must have surprised Jongin because a moment later there’s a relieved exhale. “God, you scared the shit outta me, Kyungsoo.”

“Um, sorry.” It’s weird to be living with someone else. “How was your night? I-Is the couch comfortable enough?” Kyungsoo isn’t sure what to talk about exactly.

“After sleeping in random and dirty places? It’s amazin’!” Jongin exclaims. He sounds so happy and thankful that a smile twitches on Kyungsoo’s lips, feeling a little proud that he was able to do something for someone else for the first time in forever.

“I’m glad.” Kyungsoo wanders over to sit at the table again. Natasha leaps out of his hands and onto the table, and he’s thankful that he remembered to lock up Jongin’s confiscated knife and gun. “What are you cooking? It smells like bacon.”

“I’m just fryin’ up some  _ Spam _ . It is the bacon kind though. Do ya want some? ‘S cooled off.” Jongin speaks in a bit of a mumble, and his voice is smooth and deep but with a nasal twinge. It’s unique, especially considering his Southern accent added to the mix. Kyungsoo isn’t one for conversation or loud people, but Jongin’s voice is pleasant enough.

“Sure. I can make some toast.” Kyungsoo gets up and wanders over to the bread box, and he hears a gasp from Jongin over the sound of sizzling meat.

“You got bread? And it’s not stale?” Jongin sounds amazed.

“Yeah?” Kyungsoo moves to the box freezer in the corner, and he opens it to show his stash of frozen loaves, cold air hitting him. “I keep it all in here. They don’t get too bad if you keep them in the freezer. I have honey too.”

“You really are stocked up, huh?” Jongin hums, watching Kyungsoo load up the toaster and grab a container of honey from the cabinet above. “Were you prepared for the whole...virus thing to happen or…”

“Yes, I was.” Kyungsoo snorts, leaning against the counter as he waits. “Everyone thought I was crazy when I started saving up, but I was sure that the end of the world was here when they started announcing deaths. I bought generators, solar panels, stocked up on supplies, thief-proofed my house, and made sure everything was running in tip-top shape.”

“How did you afford all that?” Jongin stares at him wide-eyed.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “All loans and credit problems go away during the apocalypse.”

“Whoa, you’re so smart! I could hardly tell anythin’ was wrong.” Jongin sighs, scraping fried slices of Spam onto the plate. “I just...the world was so shitty already. I never thought it would get  _ this  _ bad…”

“No one did.” The toast pops up with a ding, and Kyungsoo reaches out carefully to pluck it from the toaster, grabbing a knife and spreading honey onto the bread. “It’s supposed to only happen in the movies and books.” He feels Jongin snatch the toast from his hands and put it on the plate.

“Here, sit down. Where d’ya keep your water?” Kyungsoo takes a seat at the table as Jongin sets a plate down in front of him.

“There’s some bottles in the fridge,” he replies, reaching down at his plate. The Spam is hot but not enough to burn him, and he picks up a greasy slice and takes a bite. It certainly isn’t bacon, but it’s so much better than eating it from the can. He should’ve been frying it from the beginning.

“You haven’t fried Spam before?” Jongin guesses, sitting across from him, a similar position to last night.

“I don’t usually cook. My pots and pans are just inherited from my parents after they died.” Kyungsoo’s fingers skim across the table to find a bottle of water. He grabs ahold of one and assumes it’s his own as Jongin doesn’t protest.

“Oh…’m sorry.”

“No, no, they, um,” Kyungsoo gulps down some water. “They died a long time ago, like seven years ago. Car crash.”

“So you’ve lived here alone that whole time?” Jongin talks with his mouth full. Kyungsoo tries not to grimace from the sound.

“Yeah, since I graduated college. I was a computer programmer before everything, made decent money with a boring office job and everything.” It wasn’t his passion or anything, but it was an easy job that paid.

“Damn, I wish I had’a gone to college.” Jongin sighs and leans back in his chair. “I was a foster kid, so I had no money. All I had was my lifeguard job and a tiny beach house with three other guys.”

“Oh…” It was Kyungsoo’s turn to be surprised. He’d heard of the horrors of being raised as a foster child, moving from home to home, and Jongin never got that permanent home. It’s then that he remembers what Jongin said last night. “Wait - but you said you had parents?” 

Jongin laughs a little dryly. “Not my real ones. They were my last foster family, and they wanted to adopt me, but the process was so long and expensive. When I turned eighteen, I told them that it was fine. I consider ‘em my parents though. I-I miss ‘em everyday. Mama ‘n’ Pop...” There’s a sniffle. “Sorry…”

“Um, it’s okay.” Kyungsoo isn’t sure how to console a crying stranger. “I’m sure they were nice people, a-and they wouldn’t want you to cry.”

“Y-You’re right.” Jongin blows his nose with a paper napkin from the table. He laughs, a surprisingly high-pitched, cute sound. “I didn’t expect to tear up in front of ya so soon.”

“I don’t blame you. The world sounds so terrible now.” Kyungsoo is once again struck with guilt. He’s been so lucky, and he can’t imagine how it must be for those like Jongin who haven’t had any help once the virus took over the world. His fists clench into the fabric of his sweatpants. He knows nothing. “What’s...it like out there?”

Jongin is quiet for a moment. “Empty. The city is just...empty. I looted what I could around my parents house for about two months after the evacuation, but eventually I ran outta food. That’s when I started to travel on my own, but most places had already been broken into.”

“Did you ever meet other people?”

“Oh, yeah. Most were nice to me, but some…” Jongin sighs. “I was held at gunpoint a lot and robbed. People’re ruthless when it’s the end of the world, and it’s worse when you’re alone. I was constantly a target.”

“You couldn’t defend yourself?” Kyungsoo remembers Jongin’s gun and knife.

“I ain’t never fought before, and they always had me scared shitless. It was better to just give up the things I had.” Jongin finishes his last slice of Spam and leans back in his chair, hearing it creak. “The last group of guys robbed me of all my food and water the day before Halloween. Your house was my last hope.”

Jongin kept that up for five months, and if Kyungsoo had kicked him out, he could’ve died. Thinking of that, Kyungsoo feels terrible just knowing he considered throwing Jongin back out into that harsh world. He barely knows the guy, but Kyungsoo has a heart now that they’re talking.

“I’m...sorry that you had to go through that.” Kyungsoo stands up, feeling too sick to eat. “Um, I’m going to go feed Natasha.”

Jongin watches him go with a confused expression before sneakily reaching over to pluck the last slice of fried Spam from his plate and eat it for himself.

 

Kyungsoo did feed Natasha and clean her litterbox, but he said it more to escape from Jongin than anything. He felt a little awkward, not only because of what they talked about but also because of Jongin’s presence. After months of isolation with only his cat to talk to, it’s different to be talking to another human being. This is only the first morning together, and he’s already having trouble adjusting. A small part of him wishes he had turned Jongin away, and that is the cruel side of him.

Jongin does approach him once in his bedroom in the afternoon and asks if Kyungsoo has anything to fix the window latch that Jongin had broken. But after that, Kyungsoo is alone to wash his clothes and hang them to dry in the garage.

Troubled, Kyungsoo does the one thing he can think of to calm himself and sits himself down at the small piano in the corner of the living room. It’s an old one that he inherited from his grandfather, who was the one to patiently teach him how to play. His grandfather was probably the only one who ever considered Kyungsoo’s blindness to be a gift and not a burden. The piano brings back fond memories of him.

Kyungsoo smiles as he sits on the bench and lightly strokes his fingers along the keys. It’s been a few weeks since he last felt like playing, and he murmurs a small prayer to his grandfather before beginning to play a small piece that he can’t remember the name of. It’s soft, slow, and calming. He swears that he can still feel his grandfather’s presence, the way he would rest a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder as he played and murmur soft praises. Kyungsoo’s mother would joke that he got his quiet nature from his grandfather.

He isn’t sure for how long he plays, minutes or hours, but a creak in the floorboards behind him have him startled and messing up the following note. Kyungsoo stops.

Jongin clears his throat. “Uh...sorry. I was just listenin’. You’re really good.”

Kyungsoo sighs, mildly irritated because now he knows he won’t be able to get back to playing without thinking of Jongin staring holes into his back. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Um, I fixed the window. It should be thief-proof an’ all…” Jongin’s obviously a little uncomfortable from Kyungsoo’s curt tone.

“Thanks.”

There’s a long moment of silence, neither of them moving from their positions. It’s broken by a sigh from Jongin. “Hey...it’s okay if you really don’t want me here, Kyun’soo. I can just leave…” He sounds disheartened, probably thinking he did something wrong, and that instantly has Kyungsoo reevaluating his tone.

“No! No, it’s okay.” Kyungsoo turns around from his seat on the piano bench. “I’m...I don’t mean to be so…” He exhales roughly. “I’m not used to other...people...in my space. I know it’s only been like, half a day, but I’m like this.”

“Oh, really?” Jongin sounds relieved. “Haha, I really thought you hated me or somethin’.”

“Well, I mean I don’t like you either. We’ve only been roommates for less than a day,” Kyungsoo deadpans.

“Right…”

“Sorry. I’ve never been good at talking either.”

“S’okay, me neither.” Jongin laughs and his footsteps move closer. “I probably seem really talkative, but it’s only ‘cause I’m nervous. I like silence.”

That makes Kyungsoo smile. He’s never heard anyone else say that they enjoy silence like he does. “Me too.”

“Do...Do ya mind playing some more? I’d like to listen,” Jongin asks tentatively.

With the mood lightened, Kyungsoo finds that he doesn’t mind having an audience for once, and he motions to the nearby recliner. “Sure. Go ahead and sit.”

There’s a mew from the chair, which tends to be Natasha’s space, and Jongin clears his throat. “‘Scuse me, Natasha.” 

Kyungsoo is able to bury himself in the music again, completely forgetting about Jongin’s presence in his living room. It’s peaceful, and somehow he doesn’t feel as lonely.

 

A week passes by slowly, and it’s difficult for the both of them to get used to each other. Kyungsoo wakes up every day and is still unbelieving that there’s someone else in his home, sleeping on the pullout couch just in the other room. Not to mention that Jongin always gets up to cook breakfast for the two of them, always a healthy meal of fried Spam, honey toast, and canned black beans or rice. It becomes a mundane routine, but neither of them mind it at all.

Conversation tends to keep things from getting too awkward. Jongin has always been open about himself, and he slowly peels the lid off of Kyungsoo as well. 

“You’re fully Korean, right?” Jongin asks while he washes the dishes, and Kyungsoo dries them with a hand towel.

“Yes,” he replies, “My grandparents on my mom’s side immigrated to America in the sixties, and my dad came here when he was twenty and met my mom.”

“Whoa, so you can speak it ‘n’ all? Korean?” Jongin is somehow impressed, and Kyungsoo has to mentally remind himself that Jongin is Korean too.

“Yeah, of course.”

“...Do you think you could teach me? The only Korean thing about me is my genes and name, so it’d be cool to know.” Jongin hands him a plate, nudging it against his wrist.

“Um, sure. Right now?”

“Yeah! Plenty of time in the apocalypse, right?” Jongin claps his wet and soapy hands together once. “So how d’ya say hi or hello?”

“ _ Annyeonghaseyo _ .”

“...What?”

“ _ Annyeonghaseyo _ ,” Kyungsoo repeats. “That's the formal version.”

“A-Ann--” Jongin huffs. “Can ya repeat it? Slower?”

Kyungsoo raises his brows. “ _ Ann. Yeong. Ha. Seyo.” _

“You're still going too fast!”

“Just try it. I never said Korean was easy.” Kyungsoo resists the urge to chuckle.

And Jongin does try, but he spits out what Kyungsoo can only describe as a horrible American imitation of Korean with the added Southern accent. It has Kyungsoo’s control crumbling, and he instantly bursts into uncontrollable laughter, holding onto the kitchen counter for support. It's been so long since he laughed that he can't stop.

“What’s so funny?!” Jongin yells with a pout.

“N-Nothing,” Kyungsoo wheezes, “But your a-accent...s-so...funny…!”

“Hey! I can’t help how I was raised!” Jongin huffs. “I’ve been raised by everyone but Koreans!”

Kyungsoo attempts to calm himself. “M-Makes sense.”

“How so?” Jongin is still pouting, scrubbing at the last pan in the sink.

“Well...your name,” Kyungsoo chuckles. “You pronounce your name wrong.”

“Oh,  _ please _ , enlighten me,” Jongin scoffs.

“It's not that big of a deal because you say it like any American would, but it's supposed to be said like  _ Jongin  _ in Korean,” Kyungsoo explains.

There's a pause. 

“...Yeah, right,” Jongin grumbles. “You're pullin’ my leg.”

“I most certainly am not. I can't help what your parents named you, but they gave you a good one.” Kyungsoo smiles and pats Jongin’s arm in comfort.

“Really?” Jongin’s mood goes from sour to sweet in an instant. “Does it mean somethin’?”

“It depends on the characters used, but I think it means that you're full of kindness.” Kyungsoo thinks that it fits, not that you can judge someone’s character in three days, but he can already see that Jongin rarely thinks of only himself, and he’s been nothing but helpful around the house.

“Oh,” is all Jongin says, but somehow Kyungsoo can tell that he’s happy.

The rest of their following five days are spent mostly separated. Kyungsoo picks up another book to read, and he lets Jongin borrow his IPhone to listen to the old music he still has loaded up on there. It’s mostly R&B, but their tastes overlap as Jongin also shares a love for that genre of music.

“Honestly, I thought you’d be a country music fan.”

“I’m wounded, Kyungsoo.”

It’s not until Jongin asks if Kyungsoo has any movies that they start to try and interact more. Kyungsoo did acquire a large amount of DVDs before the virus spread, all labeled in braille and ranging from old romantic comedies to modern action films.

“Damn, you gotta have at least a hundred in here!” Jongin exclaims once Kyungsoo opens the two big drawers in his coffee table. He looks over the neatly stacked DVD cases and gasps softly. “You have all the Spiderman movies...and Ironman!”

“I always picked up what came out and towards the end of everything I started picking up whatever was on sale,” Kyungsoo says, sitting on the couch beside him. “I haven’t gotten around to listening to them all. It’s kind of boring listening to them alone.”

“How do ya watch movies, by the way?” Jongin asks curiously. 

“I just listen,” Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders. “Sometimes it’s not hard to understand what’s going on with all the noises and dialogue, and some movies include audio description with a narrator describing the scene when characters aren’t talking.”

“Makes sense,” Jongin says as he plucks out one DVD. “Let’s watch the Toby Maguire Spiderman, a classic.”

Jongin pops the disk into the DVD player and sits down next to Kyungsoo on the couch. The latter had already put some popcorn in the microwave, and Jongin grabs the warm bag from the coffee table eagerly. They sit through the old previews while crunching on popcorn, but when the movie actually starts Jongin begins to describe everything.

Kyungsoo finds himself giggling as some things happen so fast that Jongin struggles to keep up, and it’s so funny that he doesn’t bother telling Jongin that he’s seen this movie enough times to get what’s happening. One Spiderman movie turns into all three (even though Jongin tells Kyungsoo he should be glad he doesn’t have to  _ see  _ how much of a tragedy the third movie is), and while they’re sitting through the final fight scene with Venom, Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin stopped his narration.

“Jongin?” 

There’s no answer. Kyungsoo furrows his brows and wonders if Jongin’s messing with him, but then there’s a sudden weight on his shoulder and light snoring reaches his ears. Jongin is asleep.

Kyungsoo grumbles but decides not to wake him up. He ignores the part of him that enjoys how warm Jongin is or how calming his deep breathing is. Jongin smells like Kyungsoo’s shampoo too, and he gives in to resting his cheek on top of Jongin’s head, listening to the rest of the movie just like that.

 

Fifteen days into their new dynamic as roommates, Kyungsoo still isn’t used to sharing his bathroom. He ends up sleeping heavily that night and when he wakes up his mind is cloudy. Stumbling out of his bed, his feet follow the familiar pattern out into the hall and to his bathroom door. The lock has never worked, so he doesn’t think twice about opening the door.

Jongin screams, and that only mildly alerts Kyungsoo.

“Kyun’soo! Get out!” He yelps and judging by where his voice is and the sloshing water sound, Jongin’s taking a bath in the tub. Kyungsoo must have woken up earlier than usual.

“So what? I can’t see anything, Jongin,” Kyungsoo mumbles, opening the toilet and pulling down his sweatpants and underwear, promptly taking a piss. He’s facing away from Jongin, so it’s not a big deal.

“But I can!” Jongin practically squeals and scrambles to turn his head away. Kyungsoo smirks to himself as he finishes and pulls his pants back up.

“Wow, I wonder where Jongin is,” he teases, putting his hands out in front of him as he bends down and steps towards the tub. Jongin shrieks, and it’s hilarious.

Kyungsoo only intends to mess with him and stop just before the tub, but he suddenly loses footing on the bath mat and tumbles down. He manages to catch one hand on the edge of the tub, but the other...meets warm, wet skin.

“Uh…” His cheeks heat up, unsure of what he’s touching.

“Thanks for caressin’ both my pec and nipple.”

Kyungsoo quickly withdraws his hand and clears his throat, embarrassed and unsure of what to say. “Um, it’s very firm.” Smooth. “Firmer...than I imagined.”  _ Amazing _ .

“What do ya mean imagined?!” Jongin blushes up to the roots of his hair.

“I-I was just  _ stereotyping _ !”

“How’s that any better?!”

“J-Just shut up! Forget I said anything!” Kyungsoo scoffs and crosses his arms.

They both fall silent, and Kyungsoo can feel Jongin’s eyes on him, knowing he’s probably judging him or wondering why Kyungsoo would say something like that. He’s unsure why he said it either, or why he feels so embarrassed in the first place.

“Get out already. I need to bathe too,” Kyungsoo mumbles to break the silence, still seated on the tile of the bathroom floor.

“We...can bathe together? I just got in, and it’d save water,” Jongin proposes, and Kyungsoo’s heart jumps. 

Him and Jongin? In the bath together? Naked? In the water? He’s right. Baths take up the most water, and it’s not like they’re both really dirty as they never leave the house. Kyungsoo updated his bathroom a year ago too, so he has a nice, big clawfoot tub. There’s enough space for two people to fit easily. It wouldn’t be too uncomfortable…

“Okay.” Kyungsoo gulps, standing up. “D-Don’t look though. I can’t see, but nudity is still a concept to me too,” he sternly reminds.

Jongin makes an affirmative noise and lifts his hands. “I’m covering my eyes, and there’s bubbles in the bath.”

Knowing Jongin wouldn’t lie to him, Kyungsoo undresses and guides himself into the room temperature bath water. He shivers a little, getting goosebumps and wishing he could take a perfectly hot bath, and brings his legs to his chest. “Okay. I’m done.”

“Here, I’ll get your hair wet,” Jongin offers, telling Kyungsoo to close his eyes as he scoops up water in an old plastic cup and pours it over Kyungsoo’s head. His dark hair mats to his forehead, and Kyungsoo pushes it up. “You need a haircut.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kyungsoo sighs. “Not that looks really matter anymore.”

“Well, I’ll tell ya right now that it’s nice to talk to ya without your hair in your face.” Jongin chuckles. “I can cut it later if ya want me to. I’ve done it for my friends before.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kyungsoo replies even though he’s one-hundred percent sure he’ll take Jongin up on that offer. If he messes it up, it’s not like it matters.

“Hey, turn around and move closer.” There’s the familiar pop of Kyungsoo’s shampoo bottle.

“H-Huh?” Kyungsoo’s cheeks grow warm again.

“I’ll wash your hair," Jongin says as a statement and not a request, and Kyungsoo's heart rate skyrockets when a wet hand grabs his wrist and tugs him gently forward.

Kyungsoo somehow manages to turn around on his knees, back facing Jongin, and he plops back down on his ass only to feel long legs ensnare his hips and feet touch his own. His face feels hot as Jongin's knees press into his thighs.

"By the way, love the cheap strawberry shampoo, my friend." Jongin laughs, and his voice is so close that it sends shivers down Kyungsoo's spine.

His hands are surprisingly gentle as they begin to work the shampoo into his hair, and it's soothing and helps Kyungsoo calm down. Yes, Jongin is naked, but he isn't completely pressed up against him or anything.

"It was easy to stock up on." Kyungsoo grins at the cheap strawberry smell, and he closes his eyes and mouth when prompted as Jongin pours water over his head.

"Pretty sure it's women's shampoo."

"I like the smell," Kyungsoo defends, grimacing as the acrid taste of shampoo hits his tongue. Jongin smooths his hair away from his face before adding the conditioner. "I miss strawberries."

"Me too," Jongin sighs. "And milk, and yogurt, and bananas, and not-canned meat. Spam's great though."

"You've turned me onto Spam."

"My Spam slut."

Kyungsoo bursts into laughter, catching a glob of conditioner as it falls into his face. Jongin giggles as he washes his hands off in the bath water before pouring the water over Kyungsoo's head again. Fully relaxed, he doesn't even realize that he's leaned all the way back until he feels Jongin against him. He's so warm compared to the water that it shocks Kyungsoo, and he instantly moves away.

"S-Sorry," he mumbles, flustered.

Jongin clears his throat. "No, um, it's ok. The water's cold, so...if you want to..."

Kyungsoo can hear his own heartbeat again as he slowly scoots back until he feels Jongin's warm chest. "O-Okay." As he imagined, he can tell that Jongin's broader and his chest is toned, not soft and skinny like Kyungsoo's.

The only sound is Jongin's breathing and the dripping water from Kyungsoo's hair as they sit in peaceful silence. Kyungsoo is hyper-aware of Jongin's every minimal movement, even more so as a hand settles on his thigh. It's a little bigger and rougher than his own, and Kyungsoo can feel himself heat up as Jongin's thumb rubs against the sensitive skin of his inner thigh.

Slowly, Kyungsoo moves his own hand to lie over Jongin's underneath the water, hearing his hitched breath in response. Jongin upturns his hand, and Kyungsoo's fingers slide between the slots of his, feeling every detail of Jongin's palm. Jongin's fingers curl to hold his hand, and there's something so nice and safe about it that Kyungsoo inwardly wishes the moment would never end. Even more so when he feels Jongin's head rest on his shoulder. Jongin is wrapped around him, and he doesn't want him to let go.

Without thinking, he whispers softly, "Don't leave me."

Jongin says nothing, and instead he squeezes Kyungsoo's hand and nuzzles into his neck a little more as if to say, ' _ I'm here _ .'

Kyungsoo isn't sure how much longer they sit there in silence until Jongin talks about how pruny he's getting, and Kyungsoo reluctantly lets go of his hand, and they exit the tub, pulling the plug on the drain.

"Breakfast?" Jongin suggests as they're drying off and putting their clothes back on.

"Um, can you cut my hair first?" Kyungsoo asks instead.

"Sure," Jongin smiles. "Got a razor?"

 

Jongin ends up tying up Kyungsoo's hair and giving him an undercut, which is so much lighter than before, and it makes him wish he had it cut like this when it was so hot in the summer. Proud of his own handiwork, Jongin proclaims that Kyungsoo looks much cooler and older now, and it admittedly makes Kyungsoo feel all giddy inside.

After a late breakfast, they spend the rest of the afternoon with Kyungsoo playing the piano. Jongin likes to hold Natasha and listen as he rests on the couch. He never interrupts and most of the time he ends up falling asleep to the soothing sounds, and Kyungsoo grabs a blanket and covers him up as best as he can. Attached to Jongin, Natasha always rests on his chest.

"You pick what we watch tonight," Jongin says once they've settled down after a dinner of rice and beans. Kyungsoo's fingers skim over the spines of the DVDs as he reads and thinks. He plucks one out and hands it to Jongin.

He laughs as he reads the title. " _ Pretty Woman _ ? Really?"

Kyungsoo shrugs. "It's a classic, and I've never seen it."

Jongin scoffs, getting up to put it in the DVD player. "Mama was obsessed with all the 90's romantic comedies. I had to sit through the reruns on T.V. all the time."

A bowl of kettle corn sits on Kyungsoo’s lap as the movie starts, and Jongin goes into narrator mode as he does every night since movies have become a part of their routine. But for once, Kyungsoo can’t relax and pay attention to neither the dialogue nor Jongin’s description. His mind keeps going back to the tender moment in the bathtub and how nice it felt to be held for once. The whole day, he’s tried to store it in the back of his mind, but he can’t shake the questions in his mind.

Does...Jongin like him too? 

Kyungsoo obviously yearns for something more than a roommate or friend relationship. Two and a half weeks together, and he feels like Jongin is all he wants. Yet a part of him wonders if he could mess up what they already have by bringing romantic feelings into the mix.

“Kyungsoo? You payin’ attention?” Jongin suddenly questions, breaking Kyungsoo from his own thoughts.

“Y-Yeah, sorry, I just zoned out for a second.” Kyungsoo smiles, and it convinces Jongin enough to go back to his narration and description, though he wishes Jongin would’ve pressed on the issue more. But Jongin seems like the oblivious type, so maybe he needs to be direct and forward?

He moves closer to Jongin until their thighs and arms are touching. When that prompts nothing, Kyungsoo leans over to rest his cheek on Jongin's shoulder, but Jongin simply continues on like nothing's happening. Disappointed, Kyungsoo sighs and tells himself that he's not being optimistic when he thinks that maybe this is doing something.

But then Jongin does  _ the thing _ .

Jongin yawns and soon Kyungsoo feels a weight plop behind him on the couch, and he belatedly realizes it's Jongin's arm, his fingertips grazing Kyungsoo's right shoulder. He's heard about this. His friend, Seulgi, told him about this one day. It's something boyfriends do to subtly hold a girl (or boy) close, and it's a not-so-secret move.

Kyungsoo suddenly feels brave. "Jongin?"

He stops his narration. "Yeah?"

"Do...you like me? More than a friend?" Kyungsoo hears his own voice waver, and Jongin goes silent. He can't even hear him breathe until Jongin's breath hitches, just like before when they were in the bathtub.

Yet he says nothing as seconds tick by, and Kyungsoo starts to feel increasingly panicked and irritated at the silence. Without even thinking, he moves over and situates himself on Jongin's lap, straddling him and hearing him gasp as he presses his hands to Jongin's chest.

This is the closest they've ever been.

His heart beats against his rib cage as Kyungsoo slowly slides his hands up. Jongin is so firm beneath his cable-knit sweater and so warm. The only sound is their breathing as Kyungsoo draws his hands across Jongin's broad shoulders and back to his neck.

He isn't stopped as he skims his fingers up Jongin's throat, feeling his Adam's apple bob, and then to his jaw. Kyungsoo traces it, touching his prickly stubble and the slight dip in his chin. Kyungsoo is not brave enough to go for the lips, so instead he caresses Jongin's cheeks, noting how hot they are and how Jongin leans into his touch. His fingers touch something feathery and wispy: Jongin's eyelashes, brushing Kyungsoo's fingertips as he closes his eyes. Exploring upward, he gently skims his fingers over Jongin's eyelids. They're so smooth and delicate, as are Jongin's eyebrows, the bone sharply defined.

His hands move outward in opposite directions, over the arch of his cheekbones and into his hair. It's so soft and thick that Kyungsoo lets out a breath he was holding, and he combs his fingers through it, feeling the fuzzy texture of Jongin's overgrown undercut. He hears Jongin sigh in a relaxed manner, and then he draws his hands back to Jongin's face and to his nose. It's flat and small but slightly uneven and imperfect as Kyungsoo traces along a bump in the bridge. He feels Jongin's breath against his wrist, and he smooths a finger down the dip of Jongin's philtrum and then to his lips.

They're velvet-soft, full and plush, parted barely beneath his touch. Kyungsoo feels around the curves and shape of them. And finally he rests a single finger on the corner as a guide and leans closer. Their noses brush and then - their lips.

It's inexplicably warm, and Kyungsoo's hands move to tangle themselves in Jongin's hair again, feeling how much Jongin kisses back because he wants this too. They part for a millisecond, and then Kyungsoo is guided back again, Jongin's hands gripping his waist, fingers hooked beneath his jeans. As if they had both been starving, they gasp in between kisses.

It seems like an eternity before Kyungsoo finally pulls away to catch his breath, resting his forehead against Jongin's, bee-stung lips parted as he pants. "Jongin..."

"'Soo..." Jongin breathes. "I've liked you...for a while. Ever since I saw you for the first time, with that baseball bat in your kitchen."

Kyungsoo moves his head to the crook of Jongin's neck, his heart fluttering in his chest. "I'm glad you stayed."

"Me too," Jongin says, rubbing a hand up and down Kyungsoo's back. "So I guess ya really weren't payin' attention, huh?"

Kyungsoo chuckles. "No, sorry."

"Well," Jongin sighs, "I'd get up to grab the remote 'n' rewind, but I kinda don't wanna move."

"From what I gathered, the movie kinda sucks anyways."

"Mm, yeah." Jongin's hand moves to scratch lightly at the nape of Kyungsoo's neck, catching his attention. "I'd rather be kissin' you again than watchin' it."

Blushing, Kyungsoo pulls back and a hand on his chin guides him back to kiss Jongin once more - maybe even more than once.

 

It's not like anything really changes, but Kyungsoo is surprisingly okay with sharing his bed with someone else. Jongin is cuddly, and in late autumn with only a space heater in the corner of the room, he's grateful for the extra warmth. He finds out that Jongin only got up earlier in the morning because the pullout couch wasn't exactly comfortable, so Jongin becomes a late riser just like Kyungsoo.

Bathing together becomes a norm as well, as does kissing. Jongin acquires a cute taste for surprising Kyungsoo with kisses on the cheek or smooching him on the forehead while they're watching a movie. And sometimes when Jongin is cooking, Kyungsoo will grab his neck and bring him down for a kiss on the lips. Most instances it escalates.

Spam sizzles on the stove in the early morning as Jongin lifts him up onto the counter. His lips trail down Kyungsoo's neck, leaving heat in their wake. Kyungsoo is unable to quieten the soft moans that escape him, especially as a hand parts his legs and reaches to rub at the bulge in his boxer briefs. His own hands roam Jongin's naked shoulder blades.

"You're so cute," Jongin murmurs, his voice still rough from sleep as his lips trail down. "And your skin is so soft...like here." He kisses and licks Kyungsoo's nipple.

"S-Stop..." Kyungsoo whines, subconsciously rolling his hips and arching his chest into Jongin's touch. His dick fattens up fairly quickly, unused to the stimulation after such a long time of being alone.

He comes shortly after, and he can feel Jongin's smug little look. Kyungsoo hobbles off to change his underwear, though he gets shy when he hears Jongin mumble something about his ass and how they need to find lube.

Thus, that night, when they're cuddling up and watching the second  _ Transformers  _ movie, Kyungsoo kisses him first during another boring action scene that goes by so fast that Jongin's given up on narrating. It surprises Jongin, but he soon smiles and adjusts himself to push Kyungsoo down onto the length of the couch and deepen their kiss.

"What's this for?" He asks.

"I...I want you," Kyungsoo mumbles, his face burning as he pulls the bottle of lube out of his pocket and presses it to Jongin's chest. "A-And I found this." Well, really he knew where it was all along, he was just nervous to go that far with Jongin.

Jongin takes it from him. "Really? Are you sure?"

Kyungsoo huffs. "I'm not a virgin."

"I know," Jongin chuckles, pulling him up from the couch and leading him into the bedroom. "We should probably do this on the bed. I don't really wanna hear Linkin Park blasting while we have sex."

"What's wrong with Linkin Park?"

"They ain't as sexy as Breaking Benjamin."

"You're right. There's nothing sexier than Diary of Jane."

In a fit of mutual giggling over their past emo phases, things suddenly become real once Jongin hushes the both of them with a kiss, and his hands press both of Kyungsoo's into the mattress gently. His lips are as soft as ever, and there's no sense of urgency at all. Kyungsoo easily curls himself around Jongin, hands tugging at his shirt and later his pants.

He hasn't had the real chance to explore all of Jongin's bare body, and Jongin must understand as he drops the rest of Kyungsoo's clothes to the ground and flips their positions. Sitting himself on Jongin's hips, Kyungsoo's breathing grows heavy as he drags his hands down a faintly toned chest. His nipples are hardened, and Kyungsoo elicits a groan as he flicks his fingers over them and then back up to Jongin's collarbone, his shoulders, and down his arms.

He feels Jongin's muscles down his forearm, tracing a vein to where it meets his wrist. Kyungsoo skims over the lines in Jongin's palms before clutching both his hands and placing them on his own body. A shiver of pleasure ripples down his spine as Jongin sits up and starts to explore as well. Kyungsoo's hands pause on Jongin's shoulders as he moans softly at the sensual feeling of rough palms smoothing over every inch of his skin - down his sides, up his back, down his thighs, and then resting on his ass.

"You haven't finished," Jongin whispers, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips as he grabs a hold of Kyungsoo's hands, placing them on his stomach.

Kyungsoo feels like he can hardly breathe as he moves lower, a finger dipping into Jongin's bellybutton before coming into contact with his hot and hardened erection, curved up against his belly. He's kissed again as he grasps it in his hand, and Jongin moans into his mouth when Kyungsoo begins to slowly stroke him.

"Kyungsoo..." He breathes, connecting their lips again. Kyungsoo hears the pop of a cap and groans as wet fingers rub gentle circles around his hole, teasing him for only a moment before Jongin starts to finger him open.

Distracted, Kyungsoo lets go of Jongin's dick and settles to press their bodies together, feeling Jongin roll his hips to rub their cocks against one another as Kyungsoo clings his shoulders. Jongin rubs his fingers perfectly against that nice little spot inside of him, and it has Kyungsoo drooling and gasping. His orgasm builds, but thankfully Jongin pulls his fingers out before that can happen.

Kyungsoo lifts himself, and Jongin’s hands on his hips slowly guide him down. His back arches as his breath escapes him in one slow exhale until he’s all the way seated, full of Jongin. It’s a sensory overload, with Jongin’s fingers tracing circles on his hips and his lips pressing slow, loving kisses to his jawline.

Once comfortable, Kyungsoo gently rocks his hips, eyelids fluttering at the feeling of Jongin moving inside him. Overwhelmed, he clings to Jongin’s shoulders and whispers, “Move, please.”

“I’ve got you.” Jongin’s voice is deep and calming. “You okay?”

Kyungsoo nods. “I want you.”

Jongin chuckles and kisses his cheek. “I’m here.”

Kyungsoo gasps as Jongin thrusts up against him, roughly at first and then more gently as he grips Kyungsoo’s hips. He soon builds a slow rhythm between the two of them, and Kyungsoo can’t help the tiny little sounds that come out as Jongin thrusts into him. Jongin murmurs praises into his ears, and that only spurs him on more, his erection rubbing against Jongin’s stomach.

“Fuck,” Jongin curses. “I can’t…”

Gradually, Kyungsoo feels himself being lowered down onto the bed, Jongin following him, and he only has a split second to adjust before Jongin is grinding into him, smooth and powerful. The kiss he’s given is all tongue and teeth with hot breaths in-between, and the pleasure building in his hips is unlike any other. Jongin feels so good moving in and out of him and holding him tight.

“Jong-in,  _ ah _ !” He can’t hold it together once his knees are pushed to lie against his own chest. Jongin goes faster and with it Kyungsoo is swept away, his orgasm building in his gut.

With a wanton moan, Kyungsoo cums between them, and Jongin slows down as he too reaches his climax. He groans as he presses himself inside one last time, and then he sighs only to relax against Kyungsoo, still holding his sweaty body tight.

They don't say anything for a while, basking in the afterglow once Jongin softens up and slips out of him. It's late anyways, and they're both obviously sleepy. Kyungsoo can hear Jongin's breathing becoming slower and deeper as he combs his fingers through his hair. It makes him smile, and he reaches over to tug ahold of their blankets and pull it over their naked bodies, hearing Jongin sigh and wiggle to get more comfortable. He's heavy, but it's a pleasant weight, comforting even.

"Goodnight, Jongin."

 

Several days pass, and Kyungsoo enjoys waking up to Natasha's insistent meows and Jongin's quiet snoring. Accustomed to a new, enjoyable routine as always, he reaches over Jongin to hit the button on his alarm clock.

_ 'The day is November 21st, 2022. The time is 10:39 A.M.' _

It wakes Jongin up, which of course he responds with a groan, a stretch of all of his limbs (punching Kyungsoo in the ribs in the process), and mumbles something about it being too early as he cuddles back up to Kyungsoo beneath the blankets.

"Jongin, you can't sleep in."

"'m a man who gets what he wants."

Kyungsoo chuckles. “C’mon, don’t mess up your sleep schedule.”

Jongin’s lips press into Kyungsoo’s shoulder, and he lets out another sleepy sigh. “Gimme somethin’ then, babe.”

The pet name has Kyungsoo turning into mental mush for a good moment, not to mention that one of Jongin’s hands is currently groping his ass. “L-Like what?”

To his surprise, instead of asking for sex Jongin whispers, “The last can of Teriyaki Spam.”

Kyungsoo gasps in a dramatic fashion. “ _ Never _ . That is for special occasions only.”

Jongin bursts into giggles and pulls Kyungsoo over to lie on top of him. Amused, Kyungsoo allows him to and curls up against his chest, breathing in the scent of sleep, sex, and strawberry shampoo. He doesn’t want to sound cheesy, but he can’t think of a time he’s ever felt so...whole and happy. Being alone with Jongin in a home with only what they need is already so precious to him. He never wants it to end.

“Thinkin’ hard?” Jongin asks, rubbing a hand up and down his back.

“Thinking about how happy I am,” he replies honestly.

“I’m happy too - happy that I stayed.” That has Kyungsoo’s toes curling in pure joy and affection, and he bends down to kiss Jongin on the tip of his nose, earning another giggle. “And happy that I found ya.” Another kiss on his lips.

“Glad to hear it. Now let’s get up before Natasha comes up on the bed to claw us to death.” Kyungsoo gets off of Jongin and the bed, completely naked from their canoodling from the night before. There’s a playful smack on his ass as Jongin follows with a mischievous chuckle, and Kyungsoo elbows him in the ribs in return.

They wash off a little and get dressed in warm sweaters and sweatpants before heading into the kitchen for breakfast, Kyungsoo making the rice as Jongin fries up some regular Spam. As Kyungsoo waits, he hugs Jongin from behind and stuffs his cold fingers into his pants, pressed against Jongin’s always-warm skin.

“I don’t need the sun when I have you,” Kyungsoo mumbles, squeezing him tight. “You’re so warm.”

“Am I just your space heater, huh?” Jongin snorts, laying his free hand over one of Kyungsoo’s.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo smiles. “All mine."

Jongin grumbles. “How am I supposed t’cook when you’re bein’ so cute?” His words make Kyungsoo melt, as cheesy as it sounds, but he relents. He moves to the kitchen table to wait patiently and give Natasha the butt pats she's been meowing for.

It's when Jongin's bringing over their filled plates that they hear a knock on the door. It startles Kyungsoo, and he instinctively reaches over to grab Jongin's wrist. Jongin whispers his name, but Kyungsoo doesn't reply - instead he waits. This is what he usually does anytime someone or something comes around. He waits for them to give up and leave.

"Please," a begging voice calls out. "Is someone in there? My son and I...We need water and food. Just a little, and we'll be on our way."

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to tell them to go away, like he always does, but he's silenced as Jongin shakes off his grip, puts down their plates, and his footsteps move towards the door.

"Are you armed?" Jongin asks, wary as he should be.

"N-No!" The person sounds relieved. "I swear, we just need food and water."

"Kyungsoo..." Jongin murmurs, and said man furrows his brows. He wants to tell Jongin to leave it alone, but he can't. Jongin would hate him. Instead, he sighs and turns his head away, focusing on the food in front of him.

"Okay!" Jongin replies to what sounds like a woman and her son. "Stay there. I'll bring some supplies out to you."

His footsteps are loud as he hurries down to the basement where all the canned food is, and Kyungsoo remains silent, letting him do as he pleases. Before long, Jongin comes back up the staircase and grabs bottled water from the fridge. There's the familiar crinkle of an old plastic bag, and then Jongin's returning to the door, unlocking all of the seven locks before cracking it open.

Kyungsoo's afraid for a split second, but it's for naught.

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much," the woman sobs. "Bless you."

"It's really nothing." Jongin sounds as kind as ever, and something ugly burns in Kyungsoo's gut. "Gotta help each other durin' these hard times, ya know?"

"Still, thank you, young man. Do you live alone here?"

"Oh, no, I'm here with my boyfriend. Are y'all on your way?" The burn lessens at the mention of being Jongin's  _ boyfriend _ .

The woman sighs. "Hopefully, we're heading in the right direction. We got word of a government-operated bunker up in Wake Forest, and they're taking in the immune."

Jongin gasps. "Really? Are ya sure?"

"Yes! I've had several people tell me that. It beats trying to survive on your own."

Kyungsoo can hear the gears turning in Jongin's head, and his fist clenches around his fork. His mind quickly files through all the times in the beginning that Jongin talked about searching for a permanent, safe residence with the government, and now he finally has a lead. What does that mean for Kyungsoo?

He hardly pays attention to the rest of the conversation, remaining still and silent. Natasha squirms in his arms with how tightly he's holding her. Before long, Kyungsoo hears the door shut and being locked again. It's quiet once more as Jongin returns to the table and plops down onto his seat. Kyungsoo says nothing, waiting for Jongin to speak.

"She was really nice and sweet," Jongin hums as he starts to eat. He still talks with his mouth full.

"Yeah," Kyungsoo replies with hardly any emotion.

"But did ya hear what she said? There's a bunker north of here!" Jongin sounds so excited. "We can find somewhere permanent to stay with plenty of food and water. Travel wouldn't be so hard because we can probably find a car since I have a license--"

"We?" Kyungsoo interrupts.

"Yeah? You and me--" Jongin's tone falters. "Wait...don't tell me...you don't wanna go?"

Kyungsoo swallows thickly, fingernails digging into his palms. "We have everything we need here, and it's safe. We don't need the government. We don't need to go outside."

"I--" Jongin is speechless, but then he reaches forward to grab ahold of Kyungsoo's hand. "'Soo, baby, we're gonna run out of supplies eventually. Not to mention, if I could break in that one night, who's to say someone dangerous can't do the same? We can't rely on luck forever."

"No." Kyungsoo jerks his hand away. Jongin's words makes sense, he knows that, but he just can't. "I'm not leaving. I don't care if I have to ration smaller o-or whatever! I'm staying here."

"Kyungsoo--" Jongin insists, but he's silenced as Kyungsoo abruptly stands up, his chair scraping against the linoleum audibly.

"I'm. Staying. Here." His words are final, and a hush falls over them. Neither of them seem to move or breathe. Kyungsoo trembles, wanting Jongin to say something,  _ anything _ .

"So that's it then?" Jongin's tone is clearly cold and angered. It's something unlike him and almost like a slap to the face, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels as though he made a mistake. "We're over? My feelings don't matter to you?"

Pride overtakes him, and instead of saying he's sorry, Kyungsoo adds fuel to the fire. "If you really want to go, then  _ go _ . Leave me behind."

"A-Are you serious? You'd rather stay here than be with me?" Jongin replies, shocked.

With no hesitation, he says, "Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying."

Jongin's chair clatters to the floor and the table is pushed as he stands up. "Fine," he growls with gritted teeth. "I-If that's how it is, I'll leave you alone...like you always were."

It's like a punch to the gut, and the noise around him becomes like static in his ears. He numbly realizes that Jongin's hurriedly packing things, rushing from the bedroom, bathroom, and down into the basement. Kyungsoo knows that if he was truly angry, he'd stop Jongin from taking his things, but he can't. Instead, he says nothing and before long he notices that Jongin's stopped in front of the door.

He waits, as does Jongin, and when neither of them make a move to speak, Jongin unlocks the door and leaves, slamming it behind him. The sound is deafening, and Kyungsoo feels his knees give out under him as he finally comprehends what he's done.

Jongin's gone. The only person he's had in this world is gone. The first person he's truly  _ loved  _ is gone.

His breathing is labored as he forces himself up from the floor and locks the door. It escalates until he's hyperventilating as he drags himself out of the kitchen and back into his bedroom. Throat dry, he starts to sob before his body even meets the bed. Unable to breathe, he curls up and cries, fisting the blankets and bringing them to his nose. It still smells like Jongin.

What the hell has he done?

Jongin's last words echo in his mind. He's not wrong. It's happened before and now history is repeating itself. All Kyungsoo is good at is being alone and distancing himself from other people. It looks like all the apocalypse did is make it even worse.

 

Eventually, he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he can hear rain beating against the roof of his house along with the roaring wind. Worry instantly fills his gut as well as sadness as he remembers his fallout with Jongin. Is he okay? Would he come back?

Kyungsoo checks his alarm clock and notes that it's already evening. His face feels swollen from crying, and he knows doing anymore won't take his words away or bring Jongin back to him. So instead he gathers himself and gets up, knowing he should eat something.

It hurts when he has to throw out their food from this morning, but thinking about it only has him wanting to cry or scream some more. Sitting down at the table, he opens a can of pineapple for himself and then sets down a can of cat food for Natasha.

There's nothing different about the silence except that it's missing someone else's presence entirely. Playing the piano has no appeal now that there's no one to listen. What's the point of a movie when there's no one to describe each scene to him in a dorky manner? He can't sit in a cold bath alone anymore either. Nothing is the same, even though he only spent twenty-one days with a man named Jongin.

When he lies down again that night, he longs for the comfort of someone lying next to him.

 

Kyungsoo wakes up to a series of thumps and various other sounds, and it's like déjà vu. He sits up in bed, and a familiar sense of panic rises in his stomach. The first thing that goes through his mind is what Jongin said.

_ 'If I could break in that one night, who's to say someone dangerous can't do the same?' _

Fear has his heart rate speeding up and adrenaline kicking in as he gets up from bed, nearly tripping over his own feet as he grabs the baseball bat that's resting in the corner of the room just like before. He's so afraid, more than he was when he met Jongin. Just knowing that it's probably someone dangerous has him terrified.

His hands are shaking as he inches down the hallway, only to stop as he belatedly realizes that whoever it is is walking straight towards him with determined steps. Kyungsoo freezes in place and drops the bat, the wooden thing clattering on the hardwood. He tenses up, hugging against the wall for some sort of protection, but instead of the blow or rough handling he expected, wet hands grasp him and tug him forward into a tight embrace.

"Kyungsoo..." A deep, recognizable voice whispers hoarsely.

Kyungsoo immediately calms down, all the tension leaving his bones as his eyes start to water. His hands shake as they move to hug Jongin back, and part of him wonders if this is just a dream that he doesn't deserve. Hiccuping, he squeezes him tighter.

"I-I'm sorry...!" Kyungsoo starts to sob. "I'm s-sorry, Jongin. I-I didn't m-mean it. D-Don't leave me...b-behind." He can hardly get the words out as he starts to hyperventilate. It turns into him mumbling nonsense that even he can't understand, and Jongin shushing him gently, holding him tight through it all.

"Hey, hey, shh..." Jongin sniffles himself, and at this point they've both crumbled to the floor. "I-It's okay, 'Soo. We both said things...said things we didn't mean, b-baby." He's blubbering as well, pressing kisses to Kyungsoo's cheeks, forehead, nose, and lips.

They both slowly calm down, clinging to each other for what seems like forever. When Kyungsoo finally wipes away his tears he notices that Jongin's clothes are soaking wet and cold as ice, and it has Kyungsoo pulling away and feeling up to hold his cheeks. His skin is freezing.

"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo asks. "L-Let's get you some warm clothes. You're freezing."

"I-It rained." Jongin's teeth are chattering. "A-All d-d-day."

Kyungsoo pulls him up and leads him to the bathroom. The bag that Jongin had left with drops onto the floor, and Kyungsoo helps him as best as he can to strip out of the soaked sweaters and jackets, along with his pants and underwear, all soaked through. Kyungsoo grabs a towel and hands it to him. "I wish I could give you a warm bath."

"I'm f-fine." Jongin shudders, and he clings to Kyungsoo as they walk into the bedroom. "I-I'm just h-h-happy that y-y-you aren't a-angry at m-m-me."

"It's my fault," Kyungsoo admits, helping Jongin get underneath the covers and turning up the space heater. "I...I'm just scared, and I'm afraid that...that you'll leave me alone."

"I d-did." Jongin's icy hand moves to grab his as Kyungsoo lies down next to him. "I-I'm sorry. I realized after I left ya how stupid I am. You need me, and I-I need you."

"But I shouldn't stop you from going. It's safer there, and you were right." Kyungsoo sighs. "I know that I've been really...clingy."

"I don't...blame ya." Jongin already sounds really sleepy, voice quiet and slow. "It's jus' me 'n' you. All we got...is each other..."

Kyungsoo smiles and lays a hand on Jongin's cheek, stroking it gently. "How about we just sleep for now? We're both tired, and we can talk more tomorrow."

"Mmkay," Jongin sighs, and it doesn't take very long for his breathing to even out, his chest rising and falling slowly. He must have been exhausted, trying to travel in the cold wind and rain. It has Kyungsoo worried, more for his well-being than the aftermath of their argument. He doesn't really care about it anymore. He's just happy that Jongin is safe and back home.

Taking off his own clothes, Kyungsoo gets under the covers and spoons Jongin cold body, sharing his body heat. It doesn't take long for him to doze back off either.

 

When they wake up in the morning, Jongin has cold sweats. He's still shivering, and Kyungsoo feels his forehead and realizes he's burning up. It's definitely in fever territory, and Kyungsoo's heart plummets to his stomach. Being sick these days...is not a good sign.

"Jongin?" Kyungsoo holds his face. "How do you feel?"

"Cold..." Jongin groans and judging by his voice, his nose is stuffed up. "And stuffy...Do I got a fever?"

"Y-Yeah, you feel really hot." Kyungsoo scrambles to get up from the bed. He knows he bought some cold medicine, and he just hopes it's not expired by now. He's frantic as he searches the drawers in his bathroom, feeling every box of medicine for the braille label. After digging, Kyungsoo finally finds some, even though it's nighttime and drowsy medication. It's better than nothing though.

He grabs a bottle of water and a box of tissues on his way back to the bedroom. Jongin's coughing, and Kyungsoo hurries to his side, handing him the bottle of water and taking out a pack of two pills from the box. "Here, take these."

Jongin weakly does as told after blowing his nose a few times. "Ain't these for the nighttime?"

"I couldn't find any daytime ones, and you probably need sleep as it is." Kyungsoo gently pushes him to lie back down. He brushes Jongin's hair from his hot forehead, noting that he should probably get a cold cloth to put over his head.

"Hey..." Jongin speaks up once Kyungsoo comes back with said cold cloth. Kyungsoo had thought he'd already fallen back asleep. "Do...Do ya think it's..."

"No." Kyungsoo's voice is sure and steady as he gently lies the cloth down on Jongin's forehead. "It's not. It's just a fever and cold." He's not sure if he's trying to reassure himself or Jongin more.

Jongin holds Kyungsoo's hand and squeezes once. "Just don't get too close, 'kay? I don't want you catchin' this too."

He falls asleep shortly after that, and Kyungsoo preoccupies his time by eating something and doing laundry, knowing that he'd be stuck to Jongin's side otherwise. What Jongin had said had shaken him, and now he can't help but fear that Jongin's been struck by the same virus that devastated the population. Anyone can just be lucky and think that they're immune, or what if there's a new strain of it?

There's also the realization that Jongin would've never gotten exposed to it had Kyungsoo not pushed him out. It was an argument between the two of them, but Kyungsoo was the one who told Jongin to just go. He sent him out into the cold and the rain, and now Jongin's sick. 

He pushes the guilt and worry down, knowing nothing will come of it.

In the evening, he heats up some canned chicken noodle soup along with some toast and brings it into the bedroom, waking up Jongin. The sick man complains about not being hungry, but Kyungsoo sits him up and feeds him anyway, knowing that he needs to eat. He takes more medicine this time too, but instead of falling asleep, he just remains drowsy. And when Kyungsoo tries to climb in bed with him to get some sleep, Jongin stops him.

"Go sleep on the pullout couch," he says, a hand on Kyungsoo's chest. "I-I don't want you to get sick."

It's heartbreaking, and Kyungsoo wants to refuse, but he knows that getting sick too is the last thing he needs. So he takes Natasha with him after wishing Jongin goodnight and spends a restless night on the uncomfortable pullout bed. He hates that his mind tosses and turns with the idea to go check on Jongin and make sure he's still  _ alive. _

 

Cool, soothing hands touching his face. Murmurs of his name over and over. A weight resting on the bed just next to his legs. Fingers feeding him pills, water, and helping him drink it. It's all a blur to Jongin.

His head feels so heavy, and his vision dizzy as he keeps falling in and out of sleep. The one thing that's constant is Kyungsoo. He can hardly distinguish between what's real and what's a feverish dream, but Kyungsoo is always there with his sweet brown eyes and careful hands.

"I'm sorry."

He's unsure if he's dreaming or awake, but the two words are clear, and Jongin opens his eyes blearily to see Kyungsoo sitting in a chair next to the bed, folded over with his arms and head by Jongin's knees.

"I made you go outside. I'm sorry." His voice is slightly broken, and he must not realize that Jongin is listening. "I-I was afraid to lose you, and now...now I might really..."

Jongin feels an urge to grab him and hold him, but there's no strength in his body at all. What if he does die, then what? Kyungsoo will really be all alone, not to mention he might truly break. It has Jongin afraid. Not of death, but of leaving Kyungsoo by himself in a broken world like this.

"Don't leave me, Jongin." Kyungsoo's hand sneaks beneath the covers and searches for Jongin's. " _ Please _ , don't leave."

 

Jongin is sick for five days. He is unresponsive for three of them, and Kyungsoo hopes that it's just the effect of taking only drowsy medicine. His fever peaks two days after his return, and Kyungsoo knows because his breathing is more labored and heavier than before. That day he stays right by Jongin's side, and he does all he can to regulate his temperature, even washing Jongin's body with a lukewarm cloth after he weakly complains about the heat and cold being unbearable.

Jongin collapses in the bathroom on the fourth day, crumbling beside the toilet and fainting. Kyungsoo manages to catch him somehow before his head hits the floor, and he's in a state of panic until Jongin comes back to consciousness a minute later and says that he must be dehydrated. And if Kyungsoo wasn't forcing him to eat or drink more, he definitely is now.

It seems like a miracle on the fifth day when Jongin actually shows signs of recovery. Kyungsoo is able to only give him pain meds, and Jongin is back to cracking jokes every now and then, less zombie-like and more human. He can get up and walk to the bathroom by himself, and when Kyungsoo feels his forehead by the end of the night, it feels like he's back to a normal, healthy temperature. And by then, Kyungsoo doesn't care anymore and embraces Jongin tightly. Words can't describe how relieved he is.

"I was so scared," Kyungsoo murmurs into Jongin's shoulder.

"I know." Jongin rubs Kyungsoo's back and smiles. "I'm sorry, 'Soo."

“It’s your fault for telling me that it might be the virus!” Kyungsoo wipes his tears on Jongin’s sweaty t-shirt.

“I was scared too, ya know!” Jongin defends in a whiny voice. “I was the one who coulda died!”

His whining has Kyungsoo smiling for the first time in days, and he finally relaxes in Jongin’s arms, feeling all the exhaustion in his body come at once. When was the last time that he slept?

He giggles sleepily. “This calls for the last can of Teriyaki Spam.”

“Fuck yeah.”

 

It’s like nothing ever happened. That’s how easily they fall back into their old patterns of living. And after the past week, it’s like a dream to Kyungsoo. Words can’t describe how happy he is to have Jongin back and healthy. He still gets scared that maybe him being healthy is wishful thinking, but Jongin reassures him that he feels a hundred times better.

As peaceful as it is, Kyungsoo can’t help but feel as though it isn’t right. He keeps thinking about that government bunker up in the North, and how Jongin was so excited to go. Jongin hasn’t mentioned it since their argument, and Kyungsoo still feels like he held him back in some way. He probably gave up on it to stay with Kyungsoo and make him happy, but what about what Jongin wants? He was totally right about them running out of supplies and about their safety.

Kyungsoo feels guilty for holding him back, and with that he starts to silently consider the possibility of leaving his home. It's scary, terrifying even, but he won't be alone. He'll be with Jongin the entire time, and Wake Forest is only an hour or so away by car. As long as it doesn't snow, they should be fine. They can pack supplies for the trip and keep themselves out of trouble.

After days of thinking, he decides to bring it up to Jongin.

"Jongin?" He asks in the middle of snuggling during the first Lord of the Rings movie. Jongin is currently lying on top of him on the couch, cuddled up under blankets and sleepy.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you still want to go to the government bunker?"

Jongin stirs on top of him, clearly surprised in the choice of subject. "Kyungsoo?"

"I've...been thinking," he says. "I know you really wanted to go before, and I'm sure that you still do. And I think that you were right about us not being able to stay here for very long. We'd be safer with the government than anything else right now."

"We don't have to..." Jongin reassures him, but Kyungsoo knows he's lying.

"No, I want to go. I want  _ us  _ to go together."  He's never been more sure of something in his life, that he wants to spend more days with Jongin.

Jongin sits up. "Really?" His voice is excited.

Kyungsoo grins. "Yeah, let's do it. We can pack tomorrow and--" He's interrupted by Jongin holding his cheeks and kissing him deeply and passionately. It's so sweet and loving that Kyungsoo's toes curl in his socks, and he wraps his arms around Jongin.

When Jongin finally pulls away, he's out of breath and says, "I love you."

Kyungsoo's heart skips a beat, and he's rendered speechless for a good moment. It's been so long since he's heard those words that it takes him a while to properly reply. "I...I love you too."

Jongin chuckles and pecks him on the lips. "I'm really so happy that you want to go. Don't worry about anything, ok? I'll keep us safe, I swear."

"Okay," Kyungsoo kisses him again. "I trust you."

 

Kyungsoo pushes the button on his alarm clock.

_ 'The day is December 1st, 2022. The time is 12:24 P.M.' _

He smiles, listening to the little jingle fade for one last time. The backpack on his shoulders is heavy and weighs him down, as is the cat carrier in his hand, and yet he's never felt stronger. He's lived in this house for five years, the last year feeling like a millennium, and leaving it behind makes his heart ache, but it's also freeing in a sense. He's moving onto a new chapter in his life, and he won't be alone this time.

Jongin's boots are loud against the floors as he steps up next to Kyungsoo and unplugs the alarm clock. Silently, he grasps Kyungsoo's wrist and straps on a wristwatch. With the press of two buttons, it also tells the time aloud, although it's also two minutes behind. Afterwards, he smooths down Kyungsoo's hair and then slides on a pair of earmuffs to keep him warm, along with a pair of wool mittens.

"All warm?" he asks, and Kyungsoo nods. Natasha meows unhappily from her carrier, uncomfortable in the cat sweater Kyungsoo forced her in.

Jongin's gloved hand wraps around his own, holding it tight. "Ready to go?"

Kyungsoo lets out a heavy breath. "Yeah, let's go."

The steps out of the bedroom and to the front door echo in his ears. Mentally, he says goodbye to the things he cherished like his DVD collection, his bed, and the old piano from his grandfather. If he was able to, he would take the piano with him as he feels guilty about leaving it behind, but the memories will always be there, no matter what piano he plays.

Jongin unlocks the door, one lock at a time, and the cool autumn air wafts in as it creaks open. There's a tug on Kyungsoo's hand, leading him out, out of November and into December.


End file.
